Safety in the Shadows
by Heart's Fate
Summary: There was something about the shadow that made her feel safe. DerekxLydia with Implications of Jackson/Isaac if you squint.


**Disclaimer**: I own none of the characters used in this work of fiction. I am merely using them for my entertainment as well as everyone else.

**Author Notes**: Written for a prompt at the Spice Up Your Life:Teen Wolf Meme on LJ. I have to say while my OTP is Derek/Jackson, the one of the few girls I ship Derek with is Lydia. I do believe they'd make quite the pair. Little bonus of implications of Jackson/Isaac if you squint. All mistakes are my own as I don't have a beta.

**Warning**: Spoilers for Season Two Finale

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**Safety in the Shadows**

She first noticed him Monday night after the events in that old warehouse. She couldn't fall back asleep and found herself in the backyard, feet dipped into the warm pool water. At first she thought the shadow lurking behind the pool house was a figment of her imagination. It disappeared from view the first time she laid eyes on it, but it returned a few seconds later standing as still as a statue. With everything that's happened to her, she should have been scared. But she wasn't. There was something about the shadow that made her feel safe.

He returns the rest of the week, always taking cover behind the pool house. Wednesday was the night she learned who it was, though she already had a sneaking suspicion about who it was. He had finally ventured out a little farther from his little hide out. His face illuminated by both the moonlight and the sensor lights in the yard. She met his gaze all of a moment before she let the curtain fall and retreated to bed, wondering why Derek Hale had taken to spending his nights in her backyard.

The week ended but his visits never did. Every night like clockwork at exactly nine o'clock pm he was there. She can never figure out how long he actually stays. He was always gone by the time she woke up, though she planned on finding out. Werewolf or not, she doesn't think it's healthy for anyone to be up all night like that.

By week three she seriously begins to worry for his health. The nights are getting colder and from what she can see he's only in his leather jacket, a shirt, jeans and shoes. She's pretty sure that's not really enough to keep anyone warm when they are spending hour after hour in the cold night air. Being a werewolf is no excuse to not want to keep warm.

It's Friday night of week four of having a nightly bodyguard when she makes a decision. It's ten pm and she has the house to herself for the weekend. Her parents are away on a romantic getaway, so this is the perfect opportunity to go out and try to talk to him. She has two cup of steaming hot cocoa in her hands and she's still debating with herself on whether or not she should take a chance and invite him in for the night. But when she rounds the corner and looks behind the pool house, she surprises herself with how disappointed she feels to see Isaac and Jackson staring back at her.

"What are you two doing here?" she asks, quickly trying to hide the disappoint in her voice. From the look in Jackson's eyes, he knows, which shouldn't surprise her given how well they know each other.

"Well, Lydia, you see..." Isaac looks to Jackson as to what to say, the shorter teen shrugging before he took over and explained.

"We were asked to make sure you were safe," Jackson reaches out and takes one of the cups from her. He blows at the steaming cup before taking a sip, "so you're stuck with us for the night."

Her lips purse together but she nods and offers the second cup to Isaac, who takes it gratefully. "Well, you could have just knocked and come inside."

Jackson nods, "I could have but I didn't know if your parents were still home and considering I'm supposed to be dead that wouldn't have been smart."

Hazel eyes narrow, she knows he's lying. Stiles has informed her on these things and what he couldn't answer, Scott did. She knew they probably heard her parents car leaving and if they weren't here that early, they should have only heard one heartbeat: hers.

"Whatever. Come on, my parents aren't home. You two can spend the night inside rather than out here."

Jackson nods again and he's grabbing Isaac's hand when the other teen looks unsure, leading him in after Lydia. There's plenty of question she want's to ask but she holds off, hoping Derek returns to his regular nightly post behind her pool house tomorrow night. Instead, she settles in the living room with Isaac and Jackson, putting in The Notebook just to annoy Jackson and ignores his groaning.

The following night she waits. It's eight fifty-nine and she's standing at her window, peering between the curtain. At exactly nine o'clock she sees him. He hops over her fence and casually takes his spot behind the pool house. The faint glow of red eyes stare up at her window and at her for a second before they disappear. She hurries down the stairs and pauses at the back door to make herself a bit more presentable. She doesn't know why. She really shouldn't care but she does and she's sliding open the door and stepping outside. When the cold night air meets her skin, she regrets not grabbing a jacket like she had the night before. But she holds her head high and makes her way to the pool house. He steps out from behind his hiding spot and waits for her. She stops only a few feet away and meets those cold dark eyes, though she notices that they've gotten softer since the last time she'd seen him.

"Derek," she greets.

He nods, hands tucked into the pocket of his jacket, "Lydia"

They stand in silence for longer than she cares for. She knows he's waiting for her to speak. To ask her questions and she wonders if being a mindreading is one of the gifts of being an Alpha. His gaze is penetrating, though it lacks any ill intent, and she wraps her arms around herself. she's not sure if it's from the cold or from standing so close to the man, this confuses her though as she's never been known to be shy.

"Why?" She wants to kick herself the moment the word leaves her mouth. For three weeks now, she's had this moment planned. She had all her question neatly organized. Why are do you come here? Why has all this happened? What's going to happen now? But instead all she can say is 'Why?'

His brow raises and she expects him to dismiss her, but he doesn't. He sighs, turning his gaze away from her. He's looking beyond the fence. Out into the trees where his burnt down house is hidden from the masses.

"With Peter back," she shivers at the name of the man who had practically haunted her for several weeks. The man who possessed her body at one point to bring the very man in front her to the old Hale house so he could be resurrected. "you need to be watched."

Lydia frowns, "Watched? I'm under surveillance now. Don't you trust me?" She doesn't expect him to give her an answer, not after what she had done to him.

"No, it's not like that," he assures her, "I'm sorry for what Peter did to you." Derek scowls, "I didn't mean for anyone else to get drawn into this. There's too much at stake now. Peter's here and he's here to stay. I don't know for how long but I don't trust him. He may be family but," he shakes his head. "I wouldn't hold it pass him to use you again. For what, I don't know but I don't want to see anyone else being used."

She smiles, it's one of those rare times where it isn't fake. He's as emotionally stunted as Jackson, only worse. A lot worse. So it's weird to hear him voice his concern for her, someone he barely even knows. It's sweet actually.

"You feel guilty." she states, the smile never leaving her lips even when his head snaps back to her and his eyes narrow. "That's very chivalrous of you, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." And she can, alittle. Allison has been showing her how to handle a crossbow and other weapons when her father wasn't home. With an impending attack by a pack of Alpha's, she needed some way to help. She couldn't let the wolves have all the fun. Sure it scares her. It scares her shitless, but she's involved now. She needs to be able to protect herself, Jackson, Allison, Stiles, Scott and...Derek. She wants to protect him too. It's only fair.

"But," she pauses, closing the distance between them and without warning she wraps her arms around the older man's waist. He tenses and she knows it's been a long time since anyone has touched him, let alone hugged him. Her head is pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It seems like forever before his arms move, it's slow but they wrap around her securely. And there's that feeling again. That feeling she feels every night when she looks out her bedroom window and sees his shadow behind the pool house. She feels safe in his arms and she knows she shouldn't but she doesn't care. She gives his waist another squeeze and she's whispering a heartfelt 'Thank you' against his black shirt. They stand in each others arms for few more minutes before a gust of cold air brushes against Lydia and she shivers.

"You need to go back inside," she tries not to giggle at the way his chest rumbles as he talks or how concerned he sounds. It was only the night before, she had stepped out thinking he was out there and bring him hot cocoa to keep him warm.

She nods though, slowly releasing him as he does the same. She drags her hand down his arm, capturing his hand in hers before he could try to escape and return to the shadows.

"It's cold out here. You will spend the night inside." She gives his hand a gentle squeeze and arm a tug, ignoring the protests coming from the man as she pulls him inside. She might regret it and she might not, but it's her decision and it's already been made. Lydia never takes no as an answer. She's thankful the yard is fenced and the neighbors are asleep. It'd be hard to explain why two nights in a row she had ushered men into her home.

She doesn't know what the future holds for her. Him. Them. She's not even sure if she wants there to be a them. But she does know she wants to get to know this man, whose sitting on her couch looking horribly awkward as he removes his leather jacket. There is so much about him that fascinates her and she's a little determined to find the real man behind that stony mask he wears.

**End**


End file.
